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KAHOKA, MO -- The future of a historic courthouse in Northeast Missouri remains to be seen.

Tuesday night, Clark County commissioners hosted a public forum to discuss the courthouse in Kahoka.

A representative from an architectural firm out of Columbia presented options for the dilapidated building, and the costs involved.

Concerned residents and an appointed committee heard results of a feasibility study prepared by S & V Consultants, Inc. and Connell Architecture Tuesday night.

One option would include restoring the 137-year-old building and adding on to it. The second would involve demolishing the structure and building a brand new courthouse in its place. The first option would cost about $4.8 million. The latter would cost $3.8 million. The one million difference in cost is the amount it would take to restore the old courthouse.

A few months ago, a 9-member committee voted to build a new courthouse. That happened before the building appeared on the Missouri Preservation's Most Endangered Historic Places list for 2009. The problem is -- that designation doesn't come with any funding to fix or restore the building. And as one of the oldest courthouses in use in the State of Missouri, the county is struggling to figure out what to do and how to pay for it.

Few would argue that something needs to be done.

Right now, two buildings house Clark County's government.

Last month, Presiding Commissioner Paul Allen told KHQA the county's heating bill for the month of December was $6,000 for the two buildings.